Colorado Avalanche Reassign Taylor Makar
The C0lorado Avalanche announced that forward Taylor Makar has been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.
The move comes as the Avalanche enter their Olympic break. The club is next set to play on Feb. 25. By sending down Makar, the Avalanche put their depth winger in a position to be able to continue to play over the Olympic break. Makar has spent most of the 2025-26 season in the AHL, so it’s unsurprising that the club would want to have him play in their games over the break.
This most recent recall was the longest of Makar’s young professional career. The 24-year-old got to play in seven NHL games starting Jan. 21, a solid stretch of games for someone with just 12 total career NHL games played. The 24-year-old winger has operated in a depth role for the Avalanche, averaging 6:12 time on ice per game. He averages the fewest minutes of any Colorado player with at least 10 games played this season.
Makar, who is the brother of Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar, was selected in the seventh round, No. 220 overall, by the Avalanche at the 2021 draft.
After a four-year NCAA career spent with UMass-Amherst and the University of Maine, Makar turned pro last spring. At the AHL level, he’s so far managed to score 14 points in 38 combined regular season and playoff contests.
Boston Bruins Reassign Matthew Poitras
The Boston Bruins announced today that they have reassigned forward Matthew Poitras to their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins.
The team played its final game before the Olympic break last night, dropping their contest against the Florida Panthers in a shootout. Boston next plays on Feb. 26 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
By sending Poitras back to Providence, the Bruins have given their young forward a chance to get into games while the NHL is on break. The AHL Bruins play in eight games during the Olympic break, which is not an insignificant number of contests for Poitras to be able to play in.
Poitras’ three NHL games from this most recent recall represent his only NHL experience of 2025-26 so far. That is why, per the league’s roster rules for the upcoming break, he can be sent down without restriction. Poitras scored a goal during the Bruins’ outdoor game against the Tampa Bay Lightning last week, but was unable to land on the scoresheet in the other two games he played.
The 21-year-old has managed 24 points in 39 AHL games so far in 2025-26. To earn the chance to return to the Bruins’ roster down the line this season, he’ll likely want to up his production at the AHL level. Stringing together a solid stretch of games during the Olympic break could certainly position himself well for a recall once the Bruins return to action.
Latest On Logan Cooley, Alexander Kerfoot
As the NHL’s Olympic break inches closer, it is becoming increasingly clear which injured players are likely to be able to return to the ice once the NHL returns to action later in the month. Two names included in that group are Utah Mammoth forwards Logan Cooley and Alexander Kerfoot. Both Cooley and Kerfoot were non-contact skaters at Utah practice today, per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. Bagley also noted that today was the first instance of Cooley actually participating in drills at a Mammoth skate.
While getting Kerfoot back will certainly be a boost for the Mammoth, the return of Cooley is undoubtedly the most significant part of this development. Cooley, 21, is the Mammoth’s emerging star forward, someone who signed a $10MM AAV contract extension in late October. The 2022 No. 3 overall pick scored 14 goals and 23 points in 29 games this season, a solid follow-up to his 65-point sophomore campaign from 2024-25.
Cooley has been out since Dec. 5 with a lower-body injury. It was announced on Dec. 11 that Cooley would miss a minimum of eight weeks, which means he’ll soon be within that originally projected return window. Of course, since the NHL will be on a break and Cooley is not headed to the Olympics in Italy, he has some extra breathing room to work his way back to game fitness at his own pace.
While Nick Schmaltz has certainly acquitted himself well as Utah’s No. 1 center in Cooley’s absence, Cooley’s return to the lineup figures to give the Mammoth a massive boost. He’s one of the team’s deadliest offensive creators, and his return would have a ripple effect on the rest of the lineup that would allow certain players to slot into more appropriate roles. 2018 No. 5 pick Barrett Hayton has been playing as Utah’s No. 2 center, but has just 19 points in 50 games this season. Getting Cooley back would have the effect of giving Utah an enviable level of depth in terms of its bottom-six centers, as they also have Jack McBain and Kevin Stenlund in the lineup.
Kerfoot’s return isn’t quite as significant as Cooley’s, but it’ll help Utah nonetheless. Since the relocation to Utah, the 31-year-old has struggled to replicate his scoring pace from his days in Arizona and Toronto. But even as his numbers have declined, he’s nonetheless managed to carve out a useful role in the team’s lineup. Kerfoot, who has been out since Jan. 11 with an upper-body injury, is a regular penalty killer for the team, and averaged the second-most shorthanded minutes of any Utah forward in 2024-25.
Utah has managed to keep pace in the Western Conference playoff race despite the lengthy absences from Cooley and Kerfoot. Getting them back should make the team a serious threat to claim a playoff spot in the conference.
Anaheim Ducks Reassign Sam Colangelo
The Anaheim Ducks announced today that forward Sam Colangelo has been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.
Colangelo, 24, was originally recalled to play in the Ducks’ game against the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 16. He played nearly 11 minutes in that contest, but spent the next six games as a healthy scratch. He returned to the lineup for Anaheim’s Jan. 29 game against the Vancouver Canucks before returning to the press box for the team’s game last night. In nine NHL games this season, Colangelo has one goal for one point.
After last season, it looked as though Colangelo was well on his way towards carving out a more regular NHL role. Last year was Colangelo’s first full campaign of pro hockey, and he played very well, producing 40 points in 40 AHL games and 10 goals for 12 points in 32 NHL games.
But as the Ducks upgraded their roster and replaced Greg Cronin with Joel Quenneville behind the bench, Colangelo found landing a spot in the Ducks’ NHL lineup a tougher task than last season. He’s likely to end this year with fewer NHL games played than last season, and while he certainly hasn’t taken a big developmental leap forward, he remains under contract for another season and figures to remain a high-level depth piece for the Ducks moving forward.
Washington Capitals Activate Matt Roy
The Washington Capitals have activated Matt Roy off of injured reserve, per The Hockey News’ Sammi Silber. In a corresponding move, the team placed netminder Logan Thompson on injured reserve.
Thompson, Washington’s No. 1 goalie, has missed two games with an upper-body injury. While he skated yesterday, he’s unlikely to be back before the Olympic break begins. Thompson was named to Canada’s roster for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy.
His second season in Washington has been a strong one. Although he’s only gone 18-16-4, he’s posted a .912 save percentage, which ranks No. 9 among goalies this season with at least 10 games played. Either he or St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington will likely be Canada’s No. 1 at the Olympics, and it remains to be seen if the injury Thompson is dealing with will in any way impact his chances of getting into the crease for Canada.
Roy returns to Washington’s lineup after missing three games with a lower-body injury. The 30-year-old, who is under contract for an additional four years at a $5.75MM cap hit, has been the Capitals’ No. 3 defenseman this season, averaging 20:46 time on ice per game, including 2:27 short-handed.
When he was last in the lineup, Roy skated alongside Jakob Chychrun on Washington’s second pairing. In his absence, Declan Chisholm was able to enter the lineup as a result of head coach Spencer Carbery reconstructing his defensive pairings. Now that Roy is healthy, Chisholm will draw out of the lineup, once again becoming a healthy scratch. The 26-year-old offseason trade addition from the Minnesota Wild has gotten into 21 NHL games this season, and has operated as the team’s seventh defenseman.
Pittsburgh Penguins Activate Ryan Graves
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced today that defenseman Ryan Graves has been activated off of injured reserve. Graves landed on IR on Jan. 22 as the result of an upper-body injury, and ended up missing four games.
Graves’ return to health comes at a time when the Penguins’ defense, especially its left side, could use some reinforcement. The team recently announced that veteran stalwart Kris Letang will be sidelined on a week-to-week timeline as the result of an injury, so Graves’ activation gives head coach Dan Muse another option to work with as he plans how his defense will absorb the loss of Letang.
Letang’s injury provides Graves with quite a bit of runway to maintain a hold on an NHL roster spot. For a player with nearly 500 games of NHL experience, and one that costs $4.5MM against the cap per year, it’s something of a surprise that a spot in the NHL is even in question for Graves, but that’s been his reality in 2025-26. His decline in form since his days with the Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils has led to multiple reassignments to the AHL, where he has played a total of 13 games this season, compared to 19 in the NHL.
Given Graves’ physical traits (he stands 6’5″, 225 pounds) and his wealth of NHL experience, it’s entirely reasonable to expect him to be capable of playing better. Other Penguins defensemen have had tough stretches before finding their form, such as veteran Connor Clifton. Due in part to Letang’s unavailability, Graves will likely get the chance to play in the NHL for Pittsburgh once more, and if he can string together some quality, stable performances, he could go a long way to justifying his lofty cap hit.
Graves’ most direct competition for NHL minutes appears to be 25-year-old Ilya Solovyov, a defender from Belarus who the team claimed off of waivers on Jan. 20. Solovyov has averaged just 15:09 time on ice per game in his two contests in Pittsburgh, which is only a shade lower than what Graves has averaged this year (15:28 per game). It’s inevitable that Graves will get the chance to play in some NHL games in the role currently occupied for Solovyov, so it’ll be important for him to make the most of that opportunity if he wants to avoid another reassignment to the AHL.
Bruins Place Elias Lindholm On IR, Recall Jordan Harris
The Boston Bruins announced today that forward Elias Lindholm has been placed on injured reserve. In a corresponding move, the Bruins recalled defenseman Jordan Harris from his conditioning loan with their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins.
Lindholm has been out since Jan. 27 with an upper-body injury, costing him two games. While Lindholm would technically be eligible to return for the Bruins’ game Thursday against the Blue Jackets, it appears highly unlikely he’ll be back before the Olympic break begins.
Replacing Lindholm on Boston’s roster is Harris. The 25-year-old underwent ankle surgery in October after playing in just five games for the Bruins, and missed a few months before his conditioning stint in the AHL began on Jan. 22. Harris played in four AHL games in Providence, scoring three points.
Back at full health, the rest of the season will be very significant for Harris given the time he’s missed. He’s slated to be an RFA with arbitration rights this upcoming summer, when his one-year, one-way $825K contract expires. Finding a way to land a consistent role on the Bruins defense will be key for him to position himself to earn the best possible contract in the summer.
Harris had built quite a bit of positive developmental momentum early in his career, earning himself an NHL role quickly after signing with the Montreal Canadiens at the conclusion of his four-year NCAA career. He was able to show some flashes as a third-pairing defenseman in Montreal, and it’s worth noting that this conditioning stint in Boston was actually Harris’ first trip to the AHL. But he was unable to gain traction with the Columbus Blue Jackets after his inclusion in the Patrik Laine trade, and landed in Boston after being non-tendered by Columbus.
There was some hope that he’d be able to pick up where he left off in Montreal now as a member of his hometown team, but the injury scuttled any chance of that happening earlier in the year. Now healthy, that opportunity is in front of him once again.
Dallas Stars Acquire Jeremie Poirier
The Dallas Stars announced today that they have acquired defenseman Jeremie Poirier from the Calgary Flames in exchange for defenseman Gavin White.
At face value, this appears to be a transaction more focused on each club’s AHL affiliate, with limited immediate NHL implications. Neither player involved in this deal has made his NHL debut.
While this trade has limited relevance to the NHL depth charts of each involved team, the transaction is a significant one for each of the two involved prospects. Both Poirier and White are pending RFAs, and by landing in new organizations, they each get a clean slate to prove themselves in front of a new set of hockey decision-makers.
Poirier is the bigger name involved in the trade, just based on his pedigree as a prospect. The Flames selected Poirier in the third round of the 2020 draft, 72nd overall out of the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs. The Flames’ selection of Poirier was lauded at the time, as the public sphere ranked Poirier far higher than where he was ultimately picked. The No. 8 pick in the 2018 QMJHL Entry Draft, Poirier was the No. 26 prospect in the 2020 draft class according to Elite Prospects, No. 22 according to TSN’s Craig Button, and No. 33 on Bob McKenzie’s list for TSN.
Early in his pro career, it looked as though the media’s higher ranking of Poirier was entirely justified. He scored 41 points in 69 games in his debut AHL campaign, was named to the AHL’s All-Rookie team, and looked to be on the cusp of making a real push for an NHL call-up. After that season, he was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Flames’ system by Corey Pronman of The Athletic, who called his debut pro campaign “very successful,” but added that Poirier’s “big issue” was his defensive play.
That was the prevailing narrative surrounding Poirier’s development as a prospect. While his offensive talents were never in question, some scouts had reservations as to whether he’d develop enough defensively in order to be trusted enough to play in the NHL. In his draft year, scouts in the public sphere appeared more optimistic than scouts within the NHL on Poirier’s future as a player, and while his pro debut was strong, Poirier never was able to fully silence his doubters and land an NHL role with the Flames. Poirier’s offensive game remained steady, but questions surrounding his defensive game persisted.
Since Poirier’s value proposition as a player is entirely concentrated in his ability to generate offense from the back end, his status on a depth chart was always going to be highly vulnerable in the case his offense ever dried up. Consequently, the fact that Poirier has only managed six points in 35 AHL games this season is likely what spelled the end for of his tenure in Calgary.
Poirier was the Wranglers’ top power play quarterback in prior years, but other prospects have entered the picture, such as Hunter Brzustewicz and more recently Zayne Parekh, which has cost him that spot. Poirier is no longer considered one of the Flames’ top prospects, and this season, it has looked like he is drifting further from an NHL opportunity, not closer. It’s understandable that the team elected a change-of-scenery trade for a 23-year-old soon-to-be RFA in that kind of developmental position.
By trading him now instead of simply non-tendering him this summer, they get the chance to add a defenseman from outside the organization and evaluate whether he’s a fit to retain beyond this season. They also do a favor to Poirier, who thanks to landing in a new organization, gets a fresh opportunity that could help his development and renew his push for an NHL role. The move is also a worthwhile gamble for the Stars, who lack a true offensive defenseman in their regular AHL lineup. He’s likely to be Texas’ top power play quarterback, a role he lost with the Wranglers.
White, the defenseman headed to Calgary in this trade, is unlike Poirier in several notable ways, including in that he does not have a past as a top-rated prospect. The Stars selected him in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, and he’s spent the entirety of his pro career with AHL Texas, outside of a handful of games in the ECHL.
Although White played a limited role in each of his first two AHL seasons, his development trajectory looks positive. Through 23 games this season, he’s averaging a greater dosage of minutes than he received last season, and is even appearing regularly on the Stars’ penalty kill.
As a right-shot defensive defenseman, White holds almost the exact opposite kind of profile as Poirier, meaning his addition better fits the current construction of the Wranglers’ defense. Ryan Pike of Flames Nation wrote that the Wranglers have “regularly been playing left-shot D on the right side out of necessity,” meaning White will likely get the chance to play a greater role in Calgary than he did in Cedar Park.
Flames Reassign Justin Kirkland
Feb. 2: Kirkland has cleared waivers, per Friedman. The team later announced he’s been reassigned to Calgary.
Feb. 1: The Calgary Flames have placed forward Justin Kirkland on waivers, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
This is Kirkland’s second waiver placement of the year, as he was also waived in November. Kirkland has been on the Flames’ NHL roster since mid-December, serving largely as a spare forward option. He’s played 20 NHL games this season and has been a healthy scratch for eight, including yesterday.
In the 20 contests he was dressed for, Kirkland managed one goal and two points across 9:49 time on ice per game. He also managed to play a role on the Flames’ penalty kill, averaging nearly two minutes per game of short-handed ice time.
At the AHL level, Kirkland has been a steady top-six scoring option for the Flames’ affiliates, both when they were based in Stockton and now Calgary. Kirkland, who joined the Flames organization in 2019-20, has five goals and seven points in 14 AHL contests this season and had 30 points in 43 AHL games last year.
While there are some qualities that would suggest Kirkland is a candidate to be claimed — namely, the fact that he can play center and has played on an NHL penalty kill with some regularity — it seems more likely he’ll once again clear waivers. The fact that he’s set to make $900K this year as an owner of a one-way contract increases the likelihood that teams pass on claiming him.
While it’s certainly not impossible he gets claimed, largely for those aforementioned reasons, the most likely outcome is that Kirkland will remain in the organization he’s contributed to for the entirety of the 2020s.
Oilers To Reassign Calvin Pickard
Feb. 2: Pickard cleared waivers, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Feb. 1: The Edmonton Oilers announced today that netminder Calvin Pickard has been placed on waivers, presumably for the purposes of reassignment to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.
Taking the move at face value, it appears Pickard has lost his place in the Oilers’ crease as a result of the emergence of Connor Ingram. Ingram made his first appearance with the Oilers in late December and, since joining their NHL roster, has posted a .901 save percentage and a 2.55 goals-against average. Those numbers are a significant step up from what Pickard was offering the Oilers this season, as the veteran has just an .871 save percentage across 16 games. Among goalies with 10 or more games played this season, Pickard’s .871 save percentage ranks inside the bottom ten.
But while Pickard’s 2025-26 season has been a struggle, it’s still somewhat surprising to see him land on waivers. He was a reliable backup for the club in each of the last two seasons, even appearing in a total of 13 playoff contests across the team’s back-to-back runs to the Stanley Cup Final. Pickard managed a 7-1 record in last season’s playoffs.
With the Oilers, like most teams, unlikely to have much of an appetite to carry three healthy goalies on their active roster, Pickard was the odd man out of Edmonton’s goalie picture. Mid-season trade acquisition Tristan Jarry has struggled mightily since arriving in Edmonton, but seeing as the Oilers have $5.375MM committed to Jarry for an additional two years after this one, it’s understandable that they’d want to give Jarry the priority to keep his NHL roster spot over Pickard.
As for whether Pickard might end up claimed, it seems entirely dependent on how much stock rival teams will place in his performance this season, weighed against his play over the past two years. There does not appear to be an abundance of avenues for goaltending-needy teams to find upgrades. Because of how reliable Pickard was in 2023-24 and 2024-25, he likely stands a strong chance of being claimed.